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Should foreign journalists receive honoraria for attending a news conference called by a government? Should news sources offer to re-imburse reporters' expenses? Should a foreign reporter publicly deny that he accepted such an offer if it might jeopardize his ability to work in a foreign country? How can a foreign reporter protect himself from a government uncomfortable with his reports?
The above issues have remained on the front burner of discourse on journalistic ethics in Nigeria since Stephen Farris, a TIME journalist, visited the country earlier in the year (last year) and reported on corruption in the media. In the article, "The Whole Truth," (TIME, International Edition, April 14, 2002), Farris cited an incident where the federal government bribed foreign journalists to influence their coverage.
The background: In January, 2002, CNN reporter Jeff Koinange aired a report on an inter-ethnic clash in Lagos. A few residents said a military government would have done a better job of stopping the fighting. The federal government was unhappy with this report because it gave the impression that military dictatorship was still popular among Nigerians. It responded by visiting European countries to assure the world that the democratic movement was on course, and by meeting with foreign correspondents mostly based in Lagos.
Farris reported that the Federal Ministry of Information invited foreign journalists to a press conference in the capital, Abuja. At the end of the session, each correspondent was given press packs in which "nestled" an envelope containing 400 dollars.
The report embarrassed the government that took off in May 1999 by declaring war on corruption and public officials who are guilty of graft. President Obasanjo set up a committee headed by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Kanu Agabi, to probe Farris' allegation.
While some sections of the media berated the minister for bribing foreign journalists, others thought the gesture was a defensible public relations initiative. Here is how one journalist, Waziri Adio, columnist for the Thisday newspaper put it: "This is where the real danger lies. We have come to the day that too many journalists see nothing untoward in the action of the government . . . That is the real insult and embarrassment, not Mr. Farris' report." The journalists did not receive an "honorarium," because an honorarium is for a service rendered. Any respectable news organization should pay for gathering news.
Moreover, the fact that it is a common practice does not make it right, and the intention of the giver is not the issue. What matters is that journalists follow a code of ethics. Finally, the fact that it is done openly does not make it right. It only shows how large the problem has become. The panel's report exonerated the information minister and tried to weaken the credibility of Farris' report. It said the ministry had informed each invited journalist that it would re-imburse their expenses. The payments were to honour this pledge. It claimed that this was the practice all over the world by international agencies such as the UN and the United States Information Service (USIS). The panel accused Farris of coming to Nigeria to engage in the false defamation of public officials, and noted, "it is a criminal offence to publish such malicious falsehoods."
The report claimed that only two reporters declined the money on the grounds that theywere in Abuja for another assignment, and only one reporter returned the money later. It also claimed that Jeff Koinange collected the honorarium and "there is no evidence that he returned the money." Neither Koinange Nor CNN publicly refuted the claim at the time. But, in response to my inquiry, Koinange told me that he had returned the money and described the report as an attempt to scapegoat him. A CNN public relations spokesman categorically denied the accusation. In addition to CNN, only two foreign media, Reuters and AP, announced that they had rejected the money. That leaves quite a crowd of sinners.
Kehinde Bamigbetan, 37, edits The Country, a national weekly newspaper based in Lagos. He was at various times, Assistant Editor, Media Review, Nigeria's only journal of media criticism, and General Editor of Theweek magazine. A holder of Bachelors and Masters in Political Science, he is married to Fatima and both have a daughter, Korede.
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